A compassionate goodbye, a tribute to his father and a story which many of its readers will find themselves flooded with their own memories of loved ones who are no longer with them. I grew up on the beach, some of the things mentioned within this piece of literary fiction mean something to me on that relatable level. I know I won’t be able to read the next book in my pile as planned starting tomorrow because frankly it would be unfair, it is a zombie book after all. I believe I will wait so I can dream haunting dreams of wave people and perhaps my grandfather will come to me on the beach in my dreams.

This novella is a darkly beautiful journey granting all who read a coveted backstage pass to . Hidden like flotsam on the edge of its pages the allegorical dark lines of this piece. The protagonist a son whose father is about to die of pancreatic cancer asking his son to do something which, as he does, we’re graced with being able to go with him. Neither the son nor the father’s names are given, the only name is Dawn, his father’s nurse. I will note here, for those who choose to pick this book up, this is completely intentional in my not so humble opinion. As I sit here hours after finishing the afternoon read I still keep tearing up and remember my loss and the journey to get to my beach. Such a powerful story device.

I am so very glad I choose to review this instead of interview him or something else for this tour stop. The story will haunt me, not like a horror novel but a novel of a related experience told in this embracing fashion. Thank you for gifting your readers a peek into your own, Joseph.

I highly recommend this novella which all ways to obtain it for your own reading pleasure are below in the book information. One more thing, and it is a very important thing I think:

The author will be donating a portion of the proceeds from this book to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

A Review & a Quick Survival Tip

Today's review is going to be a consistent series over on Wilderness Apocalypse. I will be doing a quick review of individual books and series (since so many post-apocalyptic & zombie books tend to be series sets). Today it is in full here on Booklikes but later on I will just give you part of it and make you go visit my new kick ass horror blog to read the rest. I also want to add a quick tip the characters in the book added to my big box of survival necessities. So without further lukewarm MRE's with clumpy coffee (you eat what you can on the road, am I right?).

It began on Freak Day—that day no one could explain, when strangers and family members alike went crazy and started biting one another. Some thought the outbreak was caused by a flu shot, others that it was a diet drug gone terribly wrong. All anyone knew is that once you were bitten and went to sleep, you woke up a freak.

"Zombie lovers won't be able to put down Barnes' gripping yarn, which will leave them hungry for the next installment." — Booklist 

“

Adds welcome diversity to the crowded zombie field.” ( SchoolLibraryJournal.com ) “An enjoyable read . . . . solid storytelling.” ( Zombie Joe Reviews ) “Very fast paced and wonderfully written horror.” ( Bookhounds Book Review )

The Freaks come out at Night!

Devil's Wake and the second in the series, Domino Falls are two books I 've been really wanting to dig into after reading one of the author's fantasy books. He and his wife (writing duo for many fantasy reads) are clean solid writers and is apt at weaving character relationships which have you sitting on edge of your seat read. This style of writing is perfect for a good zombie survival book, it turns out he was able to do this and more..

Even after a month since finishing this I can remember the feelings evoked watching everyone develop fast and hard relationships and folding new found friends into the fold with ease. The cast is simple and part of the cast is going to be your quick survival tip, intrigued? I bet as soon as you read the list here you will know exactly ... well let's get on with this quick cast overview.

Kendra Brookings is the sixteen year-old who remembers exactly where she was when the virus started running rapid in Portland. She was sitting in the ER waiting to get the coveted flu shot, one of the last ones in the area. Ended up being a good thing they left when people started attacking everyone in the ER or the protagonists being infected would have caused the story to go a completely different direction.  Her mother, before succumbing to the virus, locks her in the basement and makes her promise to not answer the door without hearing her grandfather's safe word.

Joseph is her maternal grandfather and thankfully her mother was able to get through as the first words she heard which were not from her mother now crazed and wanting to attack her since becoming full blown infected, she has not talked to anyone, has been living in fear and ignorance for days. The great thing which has been hinted at is Joseph is also a survivalist who has a place in the woods of the Olympic Peninsula. (Another reason this gal wanted to read it since I am from the Pacific NW). 

Down the road a bit from Joseph's place is a place called Round Meadows Five run by Vern and Molly. Vern and a handful of the kids at this juvenile camp were in Seattle's famous Farmer's Market. This was really a good flash of these incredible monsters Barnes created for the readers, fantastic imagery here!

Then we have the Round Meadows gang; Terry is a councilor who was sentenced as such after shooting his abusive stepfather with a nail gun (snort). Chuck aka Piranha is a big daunting person, when you find out what he was sentenced for you will giggle a bit. He is one of my favorite characters. Dean and Darius are Squamish Indians. They are the pretty boys who look like twins but actually are cousins. These two really add a circle of diversity to the crew. Heck Dean is not even sentenced but he is there to be with his brother, who is being sentenced for auto-theft. You seeing some patterns here? Well you are right too!

The camp's last juvenile offender is Sonia and is the only girl in the Round Meadows Five. She was sentenced to the camp for shoplifting. But don't let her simple crime fool you, she is one heck of a complex character.

Lastly we have the camp dog, Hipshot. He is extremely friendly and loyal. On top of it all, they have the cousin's motorcycles and a big old camp school bus. It may help they reach one of their first goals, a military base where they are joined by Ursalina after she loses her partner.

Joseph has been working Kendra through learning how to hunt, shoot; not just use a weapon but take care of it so it always works. She is just beginning to come out of her shell, she even spoke for the first time the morning her grandfather was attacked during a normal trading trip. The only thing she knows is Domino's Falls is what is being told as a safe zone and if she has too, she will walk it.

I felt that over all giving you a window into these characters will truly give you a good intro into why you would want to pick the series up. They keep developing, it is realistic while still maintaining the moments of miracle escapes, unlikely surprises, devastation on a level which no one can possibly escape from yet they do without being so unbelievable it creates eye-rolling annoyance for zombie novel readers.

Zombies are wonderful, you cannot make them sparkly, cannot dress them up in pretty boy clothes which make the girls swoon or be buff alpha "dogs" which under the full moon could either love you or eat your heart out of the chest they just ripped out. Barnes and Due, a husband and wife team, have delved into the world of zombies. Sociological and cultural terror where the monsters are part of the world build and the characters developing relationships and how they cope and evolve into the world which has changed so completely around them.

This could be labeled a YA novel, in fact I would totally do so. Older YA (the author's label it as YA+) though since the gore and gun toting characters are violent, kind of have to be it is a zombie read! Heck the violence really is not even close to some of the dystopian reads for young adults. The kids are kids, and they are not just dealing with world problems but their own coming of age problems. Love, life and loss which would devastate the strongest of adults, and does. These guys pull it together and because of, not despite, their age they are not stuck in the old dogs tricks. Plus we all know there is going to be love interests, it is a given in any horror read like this! ESPECIALLY the norm for zombie survival movies.

If you like a great zombie read which has fun moments as well as the appropriate amount of terror and heartache, I recommend the series. Plus you may want to read it because it is coming soon to a big screen near you, (see announcement HERE). Tonya Lewis Lee, Spike Lee's wife and a producer at ToniK Productions got in touch with them after seeing their 18 minute feature short based on a story within the the novel, Devil's Wake (see below).

My only issue was with how it ended, it felt unfinished and I was extremely thrilled to have found the two books in the series after both had been published. Remember though in any zombie read the biggest monsters end up not being hungry flesh eating freaks. Friends are the most important thing to have and to hold onto in this world, remember that. But... if they had given us more information at the end we would not have the need to flesh-out the story happening in their pit-stop to Devil's Wake at Domino Falls (review coming in the next week).

Don't ditch the dog!

Sure, they are an animal and have to be fed, trained and given special training in Zed alerts (well most of the time) but that is just it, they are useful, and not for food (bad survivalist). Train them to help haul things. They can carry a small fanny bags, they also can be trained to haul larger things, especially in the winter such as dog sleds.

 

These are going to be coming in handy especially if you live places that get cold and when the gas is no longer usable... Plus I'd put a dogsled with a good team against even a horde of runners any day!

 

Dogs have been bred to be man's best friend, both in companionship but also loyalty. They have not had as much selective breeding as horses so you won't have as much breakdown in breeds even if you cross bread. They will eat almost everything and in the case of DEVIL'S WAKE, Hipshot is an early warning alarm in more ways than just growling the freaks are coming.... He knew how loud to be and he could sense and smell an infected before they even know they are getting sick. They will keep you warm at night when you snuggle and they will help keep you sane. Better than an old volleyball, huh Tom Hanks!

 

So guys don't ditch the dog! Kendra and gang discovered Hipshot was one of the groups best members!

What tips do you want to see here? Any suggestions? 

OH! Before I forget, here is the short feature film with Joseph and Kendra from the short story which started it all:

How the story begins, from one of my favorite recitative hybrid operas, Les Misérables. Hugo wrote many lines which reflect so many ideas and questions about society all within a simple (ok not so simple) performance. This book is not Les Mis, but it is something that questions the simple, complex and the world builds core values and beliefs. It is also on my list for one of my biggest recommended reads coming up in July.

In SOME FINE DAY the world above water has shrunk or become decimated by hypercanes which are now constant and Jansin Nordqvist is doing what every child does in the Transition (the world beneath the earth’s crust where every civilized person does), she is towing the party line, so to speak. A place where the world’s privileged retreated to when the earth was being flooded ahead of the storms which destroyed everything topside.

As with any dystopia, especially in young-adult reads, the children grow up in a controlled enviroment. As young adults they are easier to mold into whatever controlling government/power structure wants them to be.  It is the type of dystopia I like. Non of these prissy new dystopians which end with a happy ending. Now, before you go “Hey I read it, there is a happy ending…” Well there is more hope and promise, there is also a lot of impending darkness and hurdles. For Jansin,  till her life is blown off it’s course (pun intended), all she knows is her mom is an important botanist/scientist and her father is a high ranking officer. She is in her final training for a black ops team and pretty sure she is in love with the person she is expected to be with, at least it feels like she is suppose too and her parents like him. It is a bit more complicated but I am not giving you a book review, just some teasers.

Before graduation Jansin, her family and her boyfriend get to go to the surface for a once in a lifetime vacation, one under the real sun. They are able to track the storms well enough to get breaks like this, which cost a pretty penny. The only fear are the creatures they call toads…. oh but I won’t go further into that. Let’s just say we learn everyone’s true colors when the vacation is cut short by a group of top dwellers. Shocked, separated from her family and captured by this group she learns some harsh truths not only about the world but herself.

I wanted to give you good back-story without spoiling it, I don’t like doing this usually but I wanted you to know what I took away from the start of this story. It isn’t about the storms or an in your face eco-message. It wasn’t about her military training or even living underground and the bleakness at least from our point of view. It is about her core beliefs being questioned and falling apart, about her growing up and seeing the world under a different light, it is about truth and it is about hope. The storms, though a serious reality and for us could even happen in this life time. Sure there is a message about one way the planet could go if we continue on the path we are on. But truthfully it was a vehicle to help steer the story along. Her life was a lot like the eye of a storm, perceptively perfect, but in truth could fall apart at any moment.

Oh dear, did I sound like I was preaching…The kind of preaching which I abhor? Nope, I promise I wasn’t. The book is obviously researched well. The writing is gripping, solid and clean. The science behind it is true, even MIT says it could happen. It does not stray so far off the path of scientific reality which it cannot be seen as a “what if” scenario. Living below ground has always terrified me, after movies like Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Time Machine, what lurks below both science and creations of science have and still frighten me. It is for me, being out of control in the darkest and most complete sense. Kind of funny since when younger I was someone who loved exploring amateur level caves.

Jasin’s world is the opposite, at least in so much she and everyone thinks. The unknown and dangerous on top and the safe and known underneath in Transition. In a way this is true, however as much research is done for a good book, as this is, no good story-teller will let it lie just on the surface, so to speak. After reading into the night I was swept up in the storms above and realized as much as the out of control aspect of the top of the earth is, the true chaos is in the controlled and contained “transition” below, hidden beneath the control of the leaders. Another type of storm breaks Jasin’s path and begins her into another one.

I know, I got a bit deep there. You will too when you sit back and ponder. I swear the book is not preachy in any way, it was pure entertainment, pure enjoyment and heart stopping action (the author is brilliant at action). The “cast” is fabulous, the world is exciting and an edge of your seat ride. A bit of young love, a lot of passion (not the romantic kind), and above all for me is the search for the truth. I love stories that are about truth, not honesty, but truth. This is one of those stories.

So put your life-jacket on and remember your sun screen, and get ready for July 1st when this book arrives on Amazon!

Quick Review & a Quick Survival Tip

Today's review is going to be a consistent series here on Wilderness Apocalypse. I will be doing a quick review of individual books and series (since so many post-apocalyptic & zombie books tend to be series sets). I also want to add a quick tip the characters in the book added to my big box of survival necessities. So without further lukewarm MRE's with clumpy coffee (you eat what you can on the road, am I right?).

It began on Freak Day—that day no one could explain, when strangers and family members alike went crazy and started biting one another. Some thought the outbreak was caused by a flu shot, others that it was a diet drug gone terribly wrong. All anyone knew is that once you were bitten and went to sleep, you woke up a freak.

"Zombie lovers won't be able to put down Barnes' gripping yarn, which will leave them hungry for the next installment." — Booklist

“

Adds welcome diversity to the crowded zombie field.” ( SchoolLibraryJournal.com ) “An enjoyable read . . . . solid storytelling.” ( Zombie Joe Reviews ) “Very fast paced and wonderfully written horror.” ( Bookhounds Book Review )

The Freaks come out at Night!

Devil's Wake and the second in the series, Domino Falls are two books I 've been really wanting to dig into after reading one of the author's fantasy books. He and his wife (writing duo for many fantasy reads) are clean solid writers and is apt at weaving character relationships which have you sitting on edge of your seat read. This style of writing is perfect for a good zombie survival book, it turns out he was able to do this and more..

Even after a month since finishing this I can remember the feelings evoked watching everyone develop fast and hard relationships and folding new found friends into the fold with ease. The cast is simple and part of the cast is going to be your quick survival tip, intrigued? I bet as soon as you read the list here you will know exactly ... well let's get on with this quick cast overview.

Kendra Brookings is the sixteen year-old who remembers exactly where she was when the virus started running rapid in Portland. She was sitting in the ER waiting to get the coveted flu shot, one of the last ones in the area. Ended up being a good thing they left when people started attacking everyone in the ER or the protagonists being infected would have caused the story to go a completely different direction. Her mother, before succumbing to the virus, locks her in the basement and makes her promise to not answer the door without hearing her grandfather's safe word.

Joseph is her maternal grandfather and thankfully her mother was able to get through as the first words she heard which were not from her mother now crazed and wanting to attack her since becoming full blown infected, she has not talked to anyone, has been living in fear and ignorance for days. The great thing which has been hinted at is Joseph is also a survivalist who has a place in the woods of the Olympic Peninsula. (Another reason this gal wanted to read it since I am from the Pacific NW).

Down the road a bit from Joseph's place is a place called Round Meadows Five run by Vern and Molly. Vern and a handful of the kids at this juvenile camp were in Seattle's famous Farmer's Market. This was really a good flash of these incredible monsters Barnes created for the readers, fantastic imagery here!

Then we have the Round Meadows gang; Terry is a councilor who was sentenced as such after shooting his abusive stepfather with a nail gun (snort). Chuck aka Piranha is a big daunting person, when you find out what he was sentenced for you will giggle a bit. He is one of my favorite characters. Dean and Darius are Squamish Indians. They are the pretty boys who look like twins but actually are cousins. These two really add a circle of diversity to the crew. Heck Dean is not even sentenced but he is there to be with his brother, who is being sentenced for auto-theft. You seeing some patterns here? Well you are right too!

The camp's last juvenile offender is Sonia and is the only girl in the Round Meadows Five. She was sentenced to the camp for shoplifting. But don't let her simple crime fool you, she is one heck of a complex character.

Lastly we have the camp dog, Hipshot. He is extremely friendly and loyal. On top of it all, they have the cousin's motorcycles and a big old camp school bus. It may help they reach one of their first goals, a military base where they are joined by Ursalina after she loses her partner.

Joseph has been working Kendra through learning how to hunt, shoot; not just use a weapon but take care of it so it always works. She is just beginning to come out of her shell, she even spoke for the first time the morning her grandfather was attacked during a normal trading trip. The only thing she knows is Domino's Falls is what is being told as a safe zone and if she has too, she will walk it.

I felt that over all giving you a window into these characters will truly give you a good intro into why you would want to pick the series up. They keep developing, it is realistic while still maintaining the moments of miracle escapes, unlikely surprises, devastation on a level which no one can possibly escape from yet they do without being so unbelievable it creates eye-rolling annoyance for zombie novel readers.

Zombies are wonderful, you cannot make them sparkly, cannot dress them up in pretty boy clothes which make the girls swoon or be buff alpha "dogs" which under the full moon could either love you or eat your heart out of the chest they just ripped out. Barnes and Due, a husband and wife team, have delved into the world of zombies. Sociological and cultural terror where the monsters are part of the world build and the characters developing relationships and how they cope and evolve into the world which has changed so completely around them.

This could be labeled a YA novel, in fact I would totally do so. Older YA (the author's label it as YA+) though since the gore and gun toting characters are violent, kind of have to be it is a zombie read! Heck the violence really is not even close to some of the dystopian reads for young adults. The kids are kids, and they are not just dealing with world problems but their own coming of age problems. Love, life and loss which would devastate the strongest of adults, and does. These guys pull it together and because of, not despite, their age they are not stuck in the old dogs tricks. Plus we all know there is going to be love interests, it is a given in any horror read like this! ESPECIALLY the norm for zombie survival movies.

If you like a great zombie read which has fun moments as well as the appropriate amount of terror and heartache, I recommend the series. Plus you may want to read it because it is coming soon to a big screen near you, (see announcement HERE). Tonya Lewis Lee, Spike Lee's wife and a producer at ToniK Productions got in touch with them after seeing their 18 minute feature short based on a story within the the novel, Devil's Wake (see below).

My only issue was with how it ended, it felt unfinished and I was extremely thrilled to have found the two books in the series after both had been published. Remember though in any zombie read the biggest monsters end up not being hungry flesh eating freaks. Friends are the most important thing to have and to hold onto in this world, remember that. But... if they had given us more information at the end we would not have the need to flesh-out the story happening in their pit-stop to Devil's Wake at Domino Falls (review coming in the next week).

Don't ditch the dog!

Sure, they are an animal and have to be fed, trained and given special training in Zed alerts (well most of the time) but that is just it, they are useful, and not for food (bad survivalist). Train them to help haul things. They can carry a small fanny bags, they also can be trained to haul larger things, especially in the winter such as dog sleds.

 

These are going to be coming in handy especially if you live places that get cold and when the gas is no longer usable... Plus I'd put a dogsled with a good team against even a horde of runners any day!

 

Dogs have been bred to be man's best friend, both in companionship but also loyalty. They have not had as much selective breeding as horses so you won't have as much breakdown in breeds even if you cross bread. They will eat almost everything and in the case of DEVIL'S WAKE, Hipshot is an early warning alarm in more ways than just growling the freaks are coming.... He knew how loud to be and he could sense and smell an infected before they even know they are getting sick. They will keep you warm at night when you snuggle and they will help keep you sane. Better than an old volleyball, huh Tom Hanks!

So guys don't ditch the dog! Kendra and gang discovered Hipshot was one of the groups best members!

What tips do you want to see here? Any suggestions?

OH! Before I forget, here is the short feature film with Joseph and Kendra from the short story which started it all:

I have discovered another must-read Young Adult author via my hookup and literary dealer *sniff* Strange Chemistry (An Angry Robot imprint). I was laid up with my flesh eating virus. (you know another one of those zombie strains... thank goodness I am an Alaskan and fought it off, though I still like my meat a bit to rare), and saw I received some new books to download for review on Netgalley. Quickly grabbing this and another I set myself out to read away the afternoon...which turned into night and by 2AM I finished both including SOME FINE DAY, today's review...

How the story begins, from one of my favorite recitative hybrid operas, Les Misérables. Hugo wrote many lines which reflect so many ideas and questions about society all within a simple (ok not so simple) performance. This book is not Les Mis, but it is something that questions the simple, complex and the world builds core values and beliefs. It is also on my list for one of my biggest recommended reads coming up in July.

In SOME FINE DAY the world above water has shrunk or become decimated by hypercanes which are now constant and Jansin Nordqvist is doing what every child does in the Transition (the world beneath the earth's crust where every civilized person does), she is towing the party line, so to speak. A place where the world's privileged retreated to when the earth was being flooded ahead of the storms which destroyed everything topside.

As with any dystopia, especially in young-adult books, the children are being controlled, as are the reset of society, but they don't know it. All she knows is her mom is an important botanist/scientist and her father is a high ranking officer. She is in her final training for a black ops team and is in love with the person she is expected to be with, another team leader.

Before graduation Jansin, her family and her boyfriend get to go to the surface for a once in a lifetime vacation, one under the real sun. They are able to track the storms well enough and the only fear are the creatures they call toads.... oh but I won't go much further into that. Let's just say we learn everyone's true colors when the vacation is cut short by a group of top dwellers. Shocked, separated from her family and captured by this group she learns some harsh truths not only about the world but herself.

I wanted to give you some good back-story without spoiling it, I don't like doing this usually but I wanted you to know what I took away from the start of this story. It isn't about the storms, or her military training or even living underground. It is about her core beliefs being questioned and falling apart, about her growing up and seeing the world under a different light, it is about truth and it is about hope. The storms though a serious reality which could even happen in this life time with the way we are so abusive to the planet are a message for sure. But truthfully it was a vehicle to help steer the story along. Her life was a lot like the eye of a storm, perceptively perfect, but in truth could fall apart at any moment.

Oh dear, did I sound like I was preaching...The kind of preaching which I abhor? Nope, I promise I wasn't. The book is obviously researched well. The writing is gripping, solid and clean. The science behind it is true, even MIT says it could happen. It does not stray so far off the path of scientific reality which it cannot be seen as a "what if" scenario. Living below ground has always terrified me, after movies like Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Time Machine, what lurks below both science and creations of science have and still frighten me. It is for me, being out of control in the darkest and most complete sense. Kind of funny since when younger I was someone who loved exploring amateur level caves.

Jasin's world is the opposite, at least in so much she and everyone thinks. In a way this is true, however as much research is done for a good book, as this is, no good story teller will let it lie just on the surface, so to speak. After reading into the night I was swept up in the storms above and realized as much as the out of control aspect of the top of the earth is, the true chaos is in the controlled and contained "transition" below, hidden beneath the control of the leaders. Another type of storm breaks Jasin's path and begins her into another one.

I know, I got a bit deep there. You will too when you sit back and ponder. I swear the book is not preachy in anyway, it was pure entertainment, pure enjoyment and heart stopping action. The "cast" is fabulous, the world is exciting and an edge of your seat ride. A bit of young love, a lot of passion (not the romantic kind), and above all for me is the search for the truth. I love stories that are about truth, not honestly but truth. This is one of those stories.

So put your life-jacket on and remember your sun screen, and get ready for July 1st when this book arrives on Amazon!

What scares you most? The world ending in a nuclear apocalypse? Zombies or global warming? 

I finished it only because I was asked to by the publisher after they saw I grabbed it. Otherwise I would have put it aside much earlier. About 10% of the way through I realized this was an attempt at a high class artsy post apocalyptic read. I read bad books and enjoy them because of the pulp of zombie reads or dystopians these days. It is like a bad movie.

The Last Human was like a badly done independent art film. There was promise, and it was something completely not mainstream but I had to force myself to read it, and I have an MFA in Medieval Lit so this is not above me. It wasn't sophomoric, but it was either edited by someone who was not trained in this type of lyrical artsy style and this is what caused the stunted writing or it just was not all the way there.

I didn't hate the book but I was absolutely not impressed. The idea is a good one, hence two stars. But it was not executed at all to my expectations.

I love this author and books (this series) but this was just not as good. I found myself quickly scanning through many of the scenes and the heavy religious push bothered me. I get it, but at the same time i had issues. I plan on doing a series review later on wildernessapocalypse.com

I have to get my act together and do a series review on the blog first for this series. I absolutely love this whole book!

"A hundred years ago, such a think as a witching hour still existed"

 

I read this book way past the normal Witching Hour and am so in love with the writing. I think one of the biggest surprise to me is when I would close it I would see it is written by a male author. I know I know, who cares but when you read this you will see what I mean. Women characters written by men can be done fine and believable. But when a book confuses me to the point of taking a double take over and over I have to give hats off.

Reviews coming later!

I am so excited but now I have a dilemma of fitting The Two Tours into my TBR pile ASAP! I have so many amazing books to read this summer but I am horrific at orginazing the pile. How do you guys organize yours? For the three years I have book blogged I have not had any good and organized database or list to work from. This is probably why I because a Book Tour addict and use the to set up my calendar.

How do you organize your TBR?

Got any tips?

Welcome to Pen and Kink's first event! We hope you are excited as we are to bring you premier, high quality erotica at Indie Prices. Below you'll find information about all three books and a great giveaway, put together especially for you. First a little about Pen and Kink!

About Pen and Kink!

We are a committed writer collective focused on promoting quality erotica of all predilections, from steamy romance to the more transgressive and taboo topics and everything in-between. At Pen & Kink you will find books you can trust will be of the highest quality that contain so much heat your ereader might just melt in your hands. Check us out at Pen and Kink and follow along, we promise, it's going to be one hell of a ride.

About the Books

Renovating A Heart by Deanndra Hall     In the next installment in the Love Under Construction series, it's the story of two people with backgrounds so sad and difficult that it's unlikely they can move past them. But when pasts become the present and threaten a life, can they put aside their fears in order to survive? Revisit Louisville, Kentucky, and the friends and members of the Walters family. You've watch Nikki and Tony fall in love, and seen Vic and Laura face their demons while coming together forever. See what' next - join us on May 19th and see if Steve McCoy can find a way to heal while Kelly Markham asks for what she needs and gets a lot more. Enjoy!

RUN by River Harlequinn Abused, neglected and the absolute bottom of the pile, the runt of her family, even below her half-breed father, Lea suddenly discovers she's to be given in marriage to a werewolf family from her mother's home town. But she hasn't even managed to turn for the first time yet, and if she doesn't, they'll slaughter her. Her father can't oppose the marriage, but he can give his daughter a fighting chance, and forces her mother to take her home for the fire ritual at Beltaine. If she manages to turn then, perhaps she will survive and claim what's rightfully hers. All she wants to do is run..... Buy it now at http://riverharlequinn.com/buy-run

Protecting Portia by Pavarti K Tyler Jackson Grady met the love of his life. Unfortunately, he was running drugs for a pimp named Sasha at the time, who asked him to keep an eye on their new acquisition from Russia, the bedraggled beauty named Portia. She touched his heart and forced him to confront the kind of man he'd become. Now, Portia and Jackson both work at The Sugar House. He continuously looks out for her, and longs for her with his every breath, but knows he is unworthy of such an angel. What will Portia do to win not only the heart, but also the body, of the man she loves? Welcome to the world of The Sugar House, and the men and women who will fulfill your every fantasy. But can they find a way to fulfill their own?

About the Giveaway!

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The Curse Keepers is not just your usual paranormal read. By using a different mythology for the basis of it’s paranormal aspects, Denise Swank created a wonderful and unique read. I have read several different fictional books based on the  than most of the paranormals I read. This one deals with ancient curses and trapped Native American gods.

There are two main characters, the curse keepers, which carry the story throughout the book; Ellie Lancaster and Collin Daily. I am going to admit before I read this, since it is a series book, I read a few reviews. The difference between the positive and critical reviews were their distaste for Colin. I won’t go into that at the moment but I want you to keep that in mind when you begin to read the book, if you decide.

Ellie is a likable gal. She works on the island she grew up on, still helps with maintaining her families bed and breakfast, has bad luck with men and has a complicated family past. Enough so that she has somehow mentally blocked some very important things, such as the information about the curse and her heritage as a Curse Keeper.

I have read a few books based on the mystery based around The Island of Roanoke, the apparent lost settlement of South Carolina. The settlement is suppose to be somewhere on the island which they live off the shore of S. Carolina. Most of my stories were procedural ones and nothing paranormal. This one caught me off guard because I was not expecting the level of research the author obviously did. 

Collin is an unforgiving dog with a bone. (Remember I told you I was going to go into this). When he steps into Ellie’s life there is magic in the air, Ellie still was not convinced the curse i but she could not deny the chemistry between her and Collin. She also could not trust him, she didn’t trust but a few people with her emotions. And when she tries, she usually is disappointed, (will not spoil but man oh man her current relationship. the man? I want to smack her).

Collin completely tears Ellie a new one to the point of being cruel. This is what people dislike about the book, this is what I actually like. It is realistic. He has been preparing, as he expects her to be doing too, for this his whole life. He is not suppose even meet Ellie, this is the whole reason the curse is broke in the first place! Now that they have a week to close it before the Native American gods who have been trapped for 400 years get loose.

With Ellie not remembering, Collin is going to pissed.. freaked out, and he is a hard-ass who doesn’t feel he deserves good things. The thing is, once you read it? You realize just what is up. Personally I fell in love with Collin when I realized just what was going on. Well then I found out more… but that would be telling to much so I am still somewhat on the fence yet….? AGAIN REAL PEOPLE! REAL reactions.  I don’t like fake wishy-washy crap that is not realistic from people. Plus Collin has no clue Ellie’s father, the former Curse Keeper is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Now that Ellie needs.. no wait, WANTS the information because of what the implications are her father cannot remember.

The characters are solid, in fact Collin was better developed than Ellie, who really is the main protagonist, at least in my opinion. The second half of the book really ramps up and is so much fun. Though the story will not be able to support a never ending series such as those of Kim Harrison or Jim Butcher, but it will be solid American historically and mythological based paranormal mystery series with a ton of potential.

If you are looking for something different in the realm ofa paranormal mystery, with just the right amount of steam (without the raunchiness) and realism too, this series is amazing.  The second one, The Curse Breakers, was released on April 29th by 47North and I cannot wait to dig into my copy!

**OH BTW if I had to wait a year for the next book I may have killed someone. If you have a major issue with cliffhangers be glad book two is out. The end is… I .. I was so mad! I had to wait as it was for the book to come to Amazon to buy and I had to wait for payday so even the three days??? It almost killed me. Review for book two coming soon.

From the FAQs linked in review guidelines:  "If you think we got it wrong and removed a customer review that we shouldn’t have, please e-mail review-appeals@amazon.com and we will take another look."

(I do wish they'd put some of the FAQ info directly in the guidelines as those also make it very clear that prohibited promotions include reviews by family members and review exchanges among peers/authors.)

I think some recent confusion about amazon going to "verified purchasers only" reviews is because when writing a review if you click the review tips it says:

"...Your review will be marked as an Amazon Verified Purchase.."

I suspect they meant to say that if you purchased from amazon, you don't have to do anything to mark it as a verified purchase because amazon automatically marks for you rather than meaning no reviews unless a verified purchase. Then some badly behaving author determined to police consumer product opinions read it wrong (color me unsurprised, I remain firmly convinced the best authors are avid readers and the bad ones read about as well as they write.)

Everyday I keep seeing new books! Over 100 so far it looks like and they are available to request for review through June 2014! WAY COOL! All of Christine Nolfi's books!

Oh fears New awesome series at least for me....loving it!

I have an author friend (Richard Long) who has an autistic daughter. In the last year they have found a way for her to communicate and she is absolutely one of the most astute and well spoken young ladies I have the pleasure to be exposed too. Check out her blog and share the photo with her quote. It is pretty dang profound! Future author like her dad!

http://emmashopebook.com/

Close Reach - Jonathan Moore was mind blowing... I started reading it and didn't stop till I finished. Thriller...oh heck yes! Suspense.. I held my breath and clenched my jaw.. and horror even, but not of the paranormal kind. It was the kind of horror about the properties of the human mind when faced with a situation. Terror came to everyone in the book, no one was exempt including myself. 

Growing up in  family who sailed I really relate  to so much of the descriptions. But even if you are not familiar with the intricacies and the perils of sailing or the aspects of boating the author did an amazing job showing us. You could feel her exhilaration and fear.

I can't speak enough about this book. I feel like I did after  staying up all night reading The Old Man and the Sea. This one is going to stick with me for a while. The length is a snippet. It was a four hour read in one sitting and for myself it was just right!

Not for the faint of heart. Lots of violence and suggested rape (no actual descriptions) which could be triggers, I was not triggered but just to be safe I wanted to mention it.